Desperate Measures
by Jormus
Summary: After his greatest hero crushes his dreams, Izuku meets someone who offers him a chance.
1. Blue Flames and Shady Deals

"I'm sorry, but if I'm being honest, I just don't think you can become a hero without a Quirk."

The words echoed in Izuku's ears as he made his way home. That was what All Might had said to him right before the hero left to give the bottles containing the slime villain to the police.

Izuku put on a smile for his Mom when he got home. He rambled about his day like he always did, but his heart was not there.

" _I'm sorry."_

That's what his Mom had said when they found out he didn't have a Quirk, as she cried over his shoulder and held him close, the beloved video of All Might flickering in the background.

What the doctor had said in a said in a tone of polite finality as he handed the diagnosis over like a death sentence.

What his teacher had said as he felt her attention leave him to focus on other children.

What a stranger had said as their facial expression changed to pity when Izuku told them of his Quirklessness.

" _I'm sorry…"_

The words continued to echo in his head as he tossed and turned for hours before falling into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

 _Izuku was in a forest. Tall grey trees towered above his head disappearing into the mist. Water dripped from their unseen branches. Their trunks where covered in thick moss._

 _He looked around with a sort of detached interest, somehow aware of the fact that he was dreaming. He was standing on a trail. Before him the trail branched into two paths, both disappearing into the dark forbidding woods._

 _He shivered. Something about this place set him on edge. He was just about to pinch himself in an attempt to wake up when something bright yellow appeared in an explosion of colorful smoke before him._

 _Izuku jumped back with a yelp, landing hard on his bottom. There was no pain. Right… Just a dream._

 _Izuku looked up to examine the newcomer. The thing floating before him was a triangle. Its bright yellow was garish in contrast to the bleak landscape. It had arms and legs and was wearing a black top hat. In the center of it a single snakelike eye stared back at him. As it moved little bits of sand fell from the cracks that littered its body._

 _Izuku took a step back. He bumped into something._

" _Relax kid, I'm not going to hurt you," A high pitched, crackly voice said from behind him._

 _Izuku let out a high pitched scream and spun around._

 _The triangle was right there. Its eye crinkled at the edge. Izuku held a hand to his chest, breath coming in and out of his mouth in rapid gasps. It threw an arm around his shoulder even as he flinched back._

" _I heard you had a bad day," The triangle said, unheeding of his discomfort._

 _It held out its hand and replay of Izuku's conversation with All Might appeared in the air before them._

"I'm sorry, but if I'm being honest I just don't think you can become a hero..."

" _Why are you showing me this?" He asked angrily, pulling away from the triangle. "How did you…"_

" _Because I think he's wrong," It cut Izuku off, a smirk clear in its voice._

 _He froze._

" _What do you mean?"_

" _I mean I think you can become a hero kid!" The triangle said, twirling a cane that appeared in a puff of smoke._

 _Izuku stared dumbly, shock numbing his thoughts and an odd mix of emotions closing around his throat._

" _What?"_

" _A bit of slow aren't you?" It chuckled. "You still want to be a hero don't you?"_

" _Yes but…"_

" _Then I can help you!" It said cheerfully leaning on his shoulder. It held out a hand in front of them, blue flame flickering in its palm. "You just have to make a deal."_

 _The feeling of wrongness reasserted itself in full force and Izuku tore himself away from the triangle putting several strides worth of distance between them before he spun around to face it._

" _This is a dream, how can you change anything in the real world? What are you really after? I don't mean to be rude, but I don't trust you."_

 _The triangle stared for a second then laughed. The sound rang from the forest all around them in a hundred different voices; a jarring radio static rode the cracks. Izuku cowered._

" _A smart one aren't you? Of course I want something. Nothing in this world is free. See how I'm crumbling?"_

 _The triangle indicated at the cracks in its body._

" _Someone got irritated with me a while back and tried to kill me." Red lines flickered across its body for a moment before it resumed its amiable tone. "I survived, but only barely. It's taken centuries to pull myself together this much. If you would give me some of your energy, let me hide out in your brain space for a while. I'd be able to heal so much faster. In exchange I'd help you become a hero!"_

" _How?" Izuku asked, all his instincts were screaming at him to get out of there. But…_

 _But this was the first time he had met someone who knew he was Quirkless yet still thought he could be a hero. It couldn't hurt to hear it out right? Maybe he'd get some ideas._

 _The triangle's eye crinkled._

" _You humans are arrogant creatures. Cute though. You think you know so much yet you've barely scratched the surface. I can teach you things that will set you far ahead on the path to becoming a hero. Ancient knowledge, spells, magic… you name it, I know it! You want to go to UA right? I can get you there."_

 _Izuku was shaking. The promise was so tantalizing. Somehow he felt that what the triangle was saying was the truth. He wanted it to be true so badly. The dream that had always hung just out of his reach seemed close enough to grasp._

 _The triangle held out a hand, eerie blue flames flickering between its fingertips._

" _So what do you say kid. Are you willing to take the risk? How badly do you want to be a hero?"_

 _Izuku hesitated a moment longer then, before he could second guess himself, he thrust his hand forward and shook the triangles._

 _It grinned._

" _It's a pleasure doing business with you. The name's Bill. I look forward to seeing what sort of hero you become."_

* * *

The screaming was silenced as Izuku woke up with a gasp, his right hand tingling as if it were on fire.


	2. Invasive Thoughts

**Author Note:** **So after quite a bit of thought I decided this story would be better if I started with some more build up on Izuku and Bill's relationship. Don't worry the cave arc will turn up again in a little few chapters.**

 **Please let me know what you think.**

* * *

Izuku felt like something was wrong. It was a strange itching sort feeling as if someone had shoved sand underneath his skin. Not only that but he had woken up with a painful headache. Logically he knew both were probably a product of the slime villain trying to take over his body yesterday, but that explanation didn't sit right with him.

"Are you okay?"

Izuku looked up to see his Mom staring at him, green eyes bright and brows furrowed. He hadn't told her about the slime villain because he didn't want her to worry. There had been no media present and All Might had never taken his name so there was really no reason she would ever hear about it.

"Yeah," he said. "I just didn't sleep well."

That was mostly true. That odd dream he had last night stuck in his head making it hard to go back to sleep. A product of his wishful thinking he supposed. Now that he had been told by the number one hero that there was no way he could become one he should really learn to let go.

* * *

By the time he arrived at school his headache was almost blinding in its intensity. The medicine he had taken in an attempt to get rid of it wasn't doing anything.

As school went on he found it harder and harder to focus on what the teacher was saying. Fortunately his teachers had never really cared what he was doing as long as Izuku didn't disrupt the class or do anything disrespectful. He was tempted to ask to go to the infirmary to rest, but he didn't want to draw any more attention to himself after yesterday. Izuku gritted his teeth and did his best to fight through the pain.

The migraine continued until about halfway through the school day then, with a feeling similar to a bolt sliding into place, it abruptly cut off. Izuku blinked in surprise.

 _That was odd,_ He thought.

" _Eh, not really,"_ A familiar high pitched voice responded. _"It takes some time to move into a new head, you know? Anyway yours is pretty cluttered."_

Izuku let out a yelp and shot up out of his chair. The class went dead silent and everybody stared at him. Izuku quickly sat back down, a flush creeping up from his neck all the way to his ears. He covered his face with his arms.

The class burst out laughing and the teacher glared at him.

"If you are going to zone out please do it on your own time Midoriya," The teacher said impatiently.

"Yes, sir," Izuku responded.

He sunk low into his chair and stared at the ground as the lesson continued.

Was he going crazy? No one else seemed to have heard the voice.

" _Don't worry you're not going crazy."_

Izuku went stiff in his chair. The teacher shot him a disparaging look.

" _I mean anyone who makes a deal with me has to be at least a little crazy,"_ The voice continued. _"But hey! At least you're not imagining things."_

Izuku covertly glanced around him. No one seemed to have noticed anything. He opened his mouth to respond. The bell went off. Izuku bolted out of the classroom and up the stairs to the roof. He slammed the door shut behind him and leaned against the fencing.

"Who are you?" He asked the empty air.

Was this some sort of strange new quirk? Was one of his classmates messing with him… or perhaps a new student at the school trying to prove themselves by playing a prank on the Quirkless kid?

" _Calm down kid. It's just me, Bill! You made a deal with me last night, remember?"_

Izuku flinched at the voice. It was the triangle from his dream. That had actually happened. The feeling of wrongness reasserted itself.

"What do you want?" Izuku asked, hands clenching into the cloth of his jacket.

" _Yeesh you're a suspicious one. You agreed to let me into your head so here I am. Of course I'm able to talk to you. How else would an incorporeal being like myself teach you?"_

Right he had agreed to that… What had he been thinking? Izuku sat down with his back against the fence surrounding the rooftop.

"So how is this going to work?"

" _Well I hang out in your head. Take a little of your energy at a time and eventually…."_

"I mean you teaching me to become a hero," Izuku interrupted.

" _Oh that!"_

The triangle hummed.

" _It'll be simple. I'll send you on little quests to find useful things and then I'll teach you how they work as well as some other stuff… easy as stab in the eye with a sharp stick!"_

"I don't think that's the way the saying goes," Izuku said.

It did sound pretty simple though. He grimaced. In his general experience the simpler something sounded the harder it tended to be.

"So how long will you be in my head?"

" _Eh…. Just until I get enough energy back."_

That was vague.

"But how long will that take? What exactly is 'enough' and how will it affect me?"

Izuku never got his answer because just then the door to the roof slammed open. Bakugou emerged an annoyed expression on his face. When he noticed Izuku his expression shifted to a malicious smirk.

"Oh there you are Deku," He said sauntering over to him.

Izuku cowered against the fence behind him, limbs shaking.

"What was up with that screaming in class today?" Bakugou asked. "See your own shadow or something?"

Izuku tried to reply but couldn't so he gave Bakugou a watery smile hoping the boy would leave him alone. Unfortunately it seemed to annoy him instead.

"What are you smiling about?"

Bakugou slammed his right hand into the fence above Izuku's head releasing a small explosion. Izuku fought back a whimper, a memory of what that felt like against skin fresh in his mind.

" _Cool ability. So are you meatsacks gunna fight?"_

"Why would I do that?" Izuku asked, caught off guard.

"Are you talking back to me, runt?" Bakugou snarled.

"N-No," Izuku sputtered. "I was just talking to myself."

Bakugou's lips curved into a mocking sneer.

"I guess you would talk to yourself. You're the only one who would listen after all."

The sneer disappeared of off Bakugou's face and he watched Izuku through half closed eyes.

"Listen, I'm not certain you got what I was saying yesterday. From what I've heard you haven't removed UA from your application list yet."

Izuku shook his head, eying Bakugou's hands warily. Bakugou leaned back and crossed his arms.

"Since I'm feeling generous today I'm going to give you one more chance…"

He examined his fingernails thoughtfully.

"Remove UA from your list and I'll ignore you this year. I'm going to be busy preparing for my future at UA so I won't have time to waste on a useless Deku like you. If I find out that you've applied though…"

He paused and a series of explosions went off in his hands.

"I will make your life a living hell. Got it?"

Izuku nodded automatically, eyes wide.

"Good," Bakugou said, giving him a mocking pat on the shoulder.

Izuku flinched, but Bakugou was already walking back toward the door. He waited until the other boy disappeared off the roof before he went limp.

Bill gave an impressed whistle.

" _Wow, he'd fit right in with the henchmaniacs!"_

Izuku stared at his shaking hands.

"Bill?" He asked.

" _Yes Broccoli Head?"_

"How soon can I start learning magic?"

He felt tears trickling down his face. He was terrified, but something had to change. He couldn't go on like this. He was tired of being useless. He wanted to be worth something. He wanted to be a hero. Maybe then he wouldn't feel so broken. He might not trust Bill, but the triangle was his only chance.

A foreign feeling of amusement drifted through his head.

" _How about we start right now?"_


	3. Lesson Number One

**Author Note: Life's getting busy again, so I might be posting a little more sporadically.**

 **Thanks for the comments. Be sure to let me know what you think (If for some reason you can't review the chapter or want to make a second comment, feel free to PM me).**

* * *

Toshinori, better known as All Might, kept a constant pace as he jogged through the park. His boney arms swung with a forced but steady rhythm. Air left his mouth in short puffs and his lung burned but he kept pushing himself.

 _Only a few meters left…_

A bolt of pain shot through his side and he quickly moved to the side of the trail before he threw up. Trails of thick red blood streamed down his jaw. He grimaced and wiped it off. He finished his lap and walked over to a nearby bench to wait through the worst of the pain.

Toshinori sighed and stared out into the distance. When he had gotten home yesterday Nedzu had called him again asking if he would be interested in teaching at UA. The miniscule principal had started asking after All Might was injured and generally brought it up two or three times a year. Toshinori had always turned him down, but this time…

He grimaced as another bolt of pain shot through him sending stars across his vision. He couldn't afford to wait much longer. If he wanted to be able to spend some time training his successor after he chose one, he would need to act soon. The time he could hold his hero form was getting shorter and shorter. If he was being honest with himself, at this point three hours was pushing it. Yesterday's incident had really driven that home.

That led to his other quandary: if he was to teach at UA, what class would he teach? Sir Nighteye had been talking about a third year he thought had a lot of potential, but Toshinori wanted be able to get to know as many of the students as possible so he could make the best decision. Unfortunately his limit made it to where feasibly he could only teach one to two classes as All Might…

That was it! The realization shot through him at the same time as another wave of pain. Toshinori ignored it, and the stares of a passing couple, as he grinned widely, a trickle of blood escaping between his teeth. He fished his phone out of his pocket and typed in a familiar number. It rang twice before it was answered.

"Nedzu?... Yeah, I am… Listen, about your offer…."

* * *

"Right now?" Izuku said incredulously.

" _Sure, no point in wasting time,"_ Bill said cheerfully. _"You want to get started on your training right?"_

"Yeah, but I have class in less than an hour…"

" _Excellent! We should be perfectly fine,"_ Bill said. _"Now make yourself comfortable and close your eyes."_

"Why?"

" _You'll see in a second."_

Izuku's shoulders hunched.

"I want some sort of explanation first," He said.

" _Aw come on…."_

Izuku bit his lip and stared at the ground.

" _Geeze what a spoil sport…"_ The triangle pouted. _"Fine. I need to be able to show you stuff so you have to learn how to enter the mindscape."_

"The mindscape?" Izuku's eyebrows drew together.

" _It's kind of like that dream where you first met me."_

"Oh. So how do I get there?"

" _That's what I was getting at. Basically you need to get all relaxed and I'll tug you up. Eventually you should be able to do it on your own."_

Izuku hesitated a moment longer and then nodded. He leaned back against the fence and closed his eyes.

"Now what?"

" _Now just try to clear your mind."_

Izuku knew a little about mediation so he tried to focus on his breathing. It worked for a minute, but eventually his mind wandered. It was warm and sunny he felt himself dozing. He started to nod off. He shook himself and tried to focus on breathing again. His head slowly drooped forward.

* * *

 _With a violent lurch the world turned upside down. Izuku let out a yell and scrambled wildly for purchase. Bright, sickening colors flashed around him and then…_

 _The world stopped spinning and Izuku found himself standing on solid ground. He blinked and looked around in confusion. He was in a wooden room of some sort. Thick branches and trunks came up from the floor and disappeared through the ceiling: a tree house._ _It felt very familiar even though Izuku had never been there in his life. The walls were covered with posters of All Might and other superheroes. Shelves full of notebooks, hero magazines, and comic books lined the walls. Some spilled off into piles on the floor. Action figures and hero merchandise cluttered every available surface._

 _Izuku slowly picked his way across the cluttered floor to one of the shelves and pulled out a notebook. For a second it showed a few lines of his handwriting and then it turned into a video of him walking home._

Izuku started to pass through a familiar tunnel. He spun around and saw figure oozing out of the manhole behind him. He tried to escape, but was quickly overtaken. He struggled desperately as the villain…

 _Izuku closed the notebook with a snap. It was showing what had happened yesterday. He hesitantly opened another one and saw a video of him protecting another kid from Bakugou. He closed it. He opened several more before he realized…_

" _Memories," Izuku breathed aloud._

 _He returned the notebooks to the shelf and continued to explore the tree house. It was far bigger than he had initially thought. In fact the more he looked the more he saw._

 _Eventually he came around a shelf into a corner. He blinked. There was a strange red hammock strung up between the shelf and the wall. It was made out of some sort of material that reminded Izuku of raw meat. The action figures and notebooks had been shoved back and the floor under it was littered with crumpled packages, books in English as well as some other languages, a glass pyramid, a gold statue that that Izuku could only see the edge of and some other assorted debris. Yellow sand covered everything like dust. Izuku frowned and looked back at the hammock again. Something above it snagged his gaze. He looked up to see a window carved into the wall of the treehouse. It was covered with a curtain stitched together out of the same material as the hammock._

 _The hair on the back of Izuku's neck prickled. The whole set up looked incredibly out of place, but the window… Izuku took a step toward it._

" _Heya Kid!" A loud voice crackled from behind him._

 _Izuku let out a yelp and tripped over an All Might action figure. He managed to catch himself before he fell over. He looked around for the source of the voice and spotted Bill floating lazily a little bit above him._

" _Where are we?" Izuku asked._

 _Seeing the triangle in person was more disconcerting than just hearing his voice._

" _Why in your head of course! Welcome to the mindscape!"_

" _This is my head?" Izuku asked looking around again._

" _Yep," The triangle said cheerfully. "All this stuff represents your thoughts, knowledge, memories and interests: everything that makes you you."_

 _The triangle poked at the edge of one of the posters. The corner pulled back revealing a charred circular scar on the wooden wall, as if from an explosion, before it settled back into place._

" _So what's all this?" Izuku asked gesturing at the hammock._

" _Oh this is my little hideaway," Bill replied._

" _Your hideaway?"_

" _Yep. Gotta stay somewhere while I'm recovering. Like my hammock of living flesh?"_

 _Izuku's eyes widened and he recoiled. The triangle burst into laughter._

" _I'm just joshing you! This isn't real. I just liked the color." He wiped a tear away from his eye and snickered a little. "You should have seen your expression though."_

 _Izuku shoved his hands into his pockets and looked away. Bill floated over to him and slung an arm around his shoulders._

" _Lighten up, kid," He said flicking Izuku's nose. Izuku flinched. "Let's get ourselves over to the main area and I can start your first lesson."_

" _Okay…" Izuku said slowly. He cast one last wary glance at the hammock before following after the triangle as it floated out into the area Izuku had first found himself._

 _Once they were in the main area of Izuku's mind, Bill snapped his fingers and a blackboard appeared._

" _Magic 101 for Morons," He wrote on the board._

" _Have a seat," He said and a desk appeared beside Izuku._

 _Izuku sat down carefully._

" _Be sure to take some notes."_

 _A notebook and pencil appeared in front of him._

" _Ready? Because I am not going to repeat anything."_

 _Izuku snatched up the pencil and nodded._

" _Great! Okay… basics…"_

 _The triangle stared at the board for a moment and then promptly burst into flames, eye turning red. Izuku yelped and leaned as far back in his seat as he could._

" _Actually forget this. Long explanations suck," The triangle growled. He returned to his normal yellow and leaned on his cane. "Let's get straight to your first spell. You can figure out it works along the way. I'll tell you things as you need them."_

 _Izuku nodded warily._

 _Bill sketched out an odd symbol on the board. Izuku quickly copied it down as the triangle started to speak._

" _Okay," Bill said. "This is a super basic light spell; even a noob like you should be able to get it. In fact you should be able to do it even without the sigil."_

 _The symbol promptly disappeared in a cloud of chalk._

" _Okay here's what you do: say the word I'm going to tell you while visualizing what you want to happen, easy as pie. Got it?"_

 _Izuku raised his hand._

" _Yes?" The triangle sighed._

" _What would the sigil have done?"_

" _It helps with channeling energy," The triangle said waving a hand vaguely. "You'll need them for more complicated spells."_

 _Izuku nodded and jotted that down._

" _Any more questions?"_

 _He shook his head._

" _Good. The word you're going to use is 'Abolynth.'"_

 _The word twisted oddly on Izuku's tongue as he tried to repeat it._

" _No. no. You're saying it wrong. You need to click your teeth when pronouncing it."_

 _It took Izuku about ten tries until he got it right._

" _Abolynth."_

 _A chill twisted down his spine. Energy prickled through his body as if he had just dived into cold water. It remained under his skin thrumming with potential._

" _Good job, Broccoli Head," The triangle said, clapping. "Now it's time to wake up so you can practice it in the real world."_

" _How do I…"_

 _Suddenly Bill grew bigger, changing from a triangle to a pyramid. His bricks turned black, rainbows of color flickering at the edges. Several of his layers parted to reveal sharp teeth and far too many tongues. He rushed at Izuku._

* * *

Izuku bolted upright screaming. He looked around frantically. He was on the roof again, no terrifying pyramid monster bearing down on him. He was safe.

Shaking he sat back down…

Only to bolt upright again as jarring laughter rang through his head.

"Bill?!"

" _Yep. Boy you have the greatest reactions,"_ The triangle snickered.

"What was that for?"

" _To wake you up of course! Nothing works better for that than a scare."_

"That's not very nice," Izuku said wiping at his eyes.

" _So? The world's not a nice place. You of all people should know that. Besides I take my humor where I can get it,"_ Bill said lazily. _"So are you going to try that spell or not?"_

Izuku took a slow breath to calm himself. He ran through the steps in his head.

 _Visualize the orb of light… Then say the word…_

"Abolynth."

There was a blinding flash of light and Izuku fell over backward in surprise, a sharp pain echoing through his skull.

"What was that," He whispered.

" _You didn't have strong enough intent. You have to command it and expect it to happen! If you don't you'll get backlash. A bad spell could even kill a person."_

"Kill?!" Izuku stiffened.

" _Not a minor spell like this one. This'll only give you a bad headache at worst. Now try again."_


	4. Adventures With Bill

Izuku lay sprawled across his bed, All Might sheets disheveled under him. Ignoring his slowly worsening headache, he bit his lip as he sketched out the sigil.

 _Careful, careful… There._

Izuku looked over his work skeptically. The lines were a little shaky, but it was the right symbol. He had spent the rest of the day yesterday working on the light spell with little to no success, generally just exploding it in his face, before he decided it would be best to try using the sigil until he got the hang of it.

" _So are you going to do this or what?"_ Bill asked.

Izuku took a deep breath and picked up the piece of paper. He traced lightly over the lines with his finger, engraving them into his memory, then held out a hand.

"Abolynth."

A sphere of light flared to life above his fingertips.

Izuku's mouth dropped open. Hardly daring to move he stared at it. It flickered a soft blue color, darker and lighter hues swirling about in it like water.

"Bill… Bill!" He whispered. "Look! I'm doing it! I'm doing magic!"

The triangle snorted and muttered, _"About time."_

Bill's lack of enthusiasm did nothing to dampen Izuku's joy. Eyes wide and bright, Izuku reached forward hesitantly with his left hand to try to touch the orb. As his fingers drew near, it drifted slowly away from them. He chased it around for a few seconds. A giggle escaped from his lips.

"I've done it."

He stared at the orb, excitement building as the implications sunk in. He could do it. He could really do magic. With this new ability at his disposal he could finally become a hero. A wide smile spread slowly across his lips.

He let out a whoop, leaping to his feet on the bed and punching the air.

"I did it!"

The orb promptly exploded.

Izuku stared at the empty space where the orb had been. He started laughing. He let himself fall onto the bed and lay there shaking with mirth. Tears came.

He wiped his eyes, chest filled with hope for the first time in a long time. He could finally be a hero.

* * *

"Dinner time!"

Izuku jerked awake at the sound of his Mom's voice. He shook his head trying to uncloud it. He grimaced at the taste of his mouth. He must have been really out. He quickly wiped the drool away from his mouth and tried to even his hair out as he made his way downstairs. It seemed the headache had abated somewhat.

The smells from the kitchen wafted out to meet him, making Izuku's stomach growl. He couldn't remember ever being this hungry. And…

Izuku inhaled a lungful of the scent. A wide grin spread across his face. It was katsudon! His favorite.

He sat down at the table, nearly drooling. His Mom finished drying her hands and sat down across from him.

"Thank you, Mom!" He said beaming at her.

"You're welcome," She said smiling back.

" _How come I don't get any?"_ Bill whined. Izuku ignored him.

They ate in comfortable silence for a few minutes.

"You seem really happy today. Did something good happen?"

Izuku swallowed the food he was chewing.

"I figured out something that was puzzling me," He said, fingertips tingling slightly at the memory. "I think it'll help a lot with becoming a hero."

His Mom's smile wavered slightly at that before settling again, a little sadder now.

"Well I'm just glad to see you happy," She said reaching over to pat his cheek.

Izuku leaned into the touch for a second, a trickle of sadness running through his chest. He knew she worried about what would happen if he never got into a hero school. It was okay, he would show her eventually.

* * *

After dishes were done Izuku returned to his room. He took out the sigil he had drawn and traced over it again to burn it into his mind's eye then he hid it in one of the All Might figurines that he knew was hollow. He'd figure out what to do with it later.

Concentrating on the mental image of the sigil he held out his hand, palm up and said, "Abolynth". The light orb flickered to life above his fingertips.

He stared at it for a few seconds and then pulled his hand away. It stayed. Excitement kindled in his chest. Carefully he brought both hands together attempting to trap it between his fingers. The orb shot upward escaping before he could touch it. He took a rapid swat at it. It moved out of the way of his hand like a paper in front of a wind.

"Interesting," He mumbled to himself. "So I can't seem to touch it. I wonder if someone with super speed could…"

His fingers twitched at his side.

So how did he release it? He frowned slightly. The backlash was inconvenient and would get in the way during a fight. He reached his hand out it, fingers spread and took a deep breath. He closed his hand into a fist.

"Disappear."

The orb winked out of existence. Izuku grinned. He got it. On his first try too.

" _You don't have to do that,"_ Bill commented, sounding bored.

"Oh," Izuku said staring at the blank space where the light had been. "Well visualizing seemed to help with getting it to appear in the first place, so I think I'll stick with that for now."

" _Whatever floats your goat. So are you ready for the next thing, or are you going to keep playing with that beginner spell all day."_

Izuku sat up a little too quickly and a wave of dizziness passed through him. He waited a second to let it settle.

"Next?" He asked.

" _Yep, but no more freebies. You have to actually work for the next one."_

Izuku thought that he had worked pretty hard for this spell, but decided not to argue that point.

"What do you mean?"

" _I mean it's time for your first 'quest'."_

Right. Bill had mentioned something about that earlier.

"So what do I do?"

" _It's simple. I'll tell you a place to go and then you go there and retrieve something that will help with learning magic."_

"Okay," Izuku said slowly. That sounded a little too simple, there had to be a catch somewhere.

" _Great,"_ Bill said. _"I'll even be nice this time and give you actual directions."_

* * *

Izuku stared at the shrine in front of him.

"… _And once you take the scroll. You should make sure to be really quiet sneaking out. The monk's not that observant but this particular shrine trains guard dogs to watch over their sacred things."_

"No," Izuku said firmly.

He flushed as a passerby gave him a weird look.

" _Aw, why not?"_ Bill whined. _"This one is super easy. It's not like they're actually using it anyway."_

"Because it would be stealing," Izuku whispered furiously.

He moved to the far edge of the shrine grounds so no one would hear him.

" _Ugg, morals. You should really get over those… They're worse than the plague. Get a strong set and you can never do anything fun."_

"At least they keep me from tormenting people," Izuku said.

Again he wondered why he had agreed to this.

"Isn't there somewhere else I can try?"

" _Fine."_ Bill sighed. _"Just be warned this next one's a ways away."_

"And I won't be breaking any laws?"

" _No,"_ Bill said. A mental image of him rolling his eye passed through Izuku's head.

"Okay. But let's wait until Sunday. I want to practice the light spell a bit more."

" _Sounds good,"_ Bill said, suddenly cheerful again. _"This should be fun."_

A prickle ran down Izuku's spine.

* * *

Sunday morning dawned cold and rainy. Izuku would have liked nothing more than to stay in his sheets and sleep an extra hour or two, but it wasn't to be.

" _Wakey, wakey… times a 'wastin"',_ A voice filtered through Izuku's cloudy consciousness.

Izuku groaned and burrowed farther into the covers. The pleasant warmth and the patter of the rain against the windows soothed him toward sleep.

" _Oh well… I tried."_

Suddenly a loud scream rang out in Izuku's head. It would have been positively ear-piercing if it was verbal. As it was it cut through his comfortable doze like a wrecking ball through a glass chandelier.

Izuku let out a shriek of his own and shot out of bed. His foot tangled with his chair and sent him slamming into the ground hard enough force to knock the wind out of him.

"Are you okay Izuku?" His Mom's concerned voice filtered through the door.

"Yeah, I just tripped," Izuku called back when he had recovered his breath.

"Please be careful." She still sounded concerned.

"I will."

Izuku let himself lay on the ground for a moment longer before he struggled to his feet.

" _Look who's finally up,"_ A far too cheerful, annoyingly high pitched voice said in his head.

"Was that really necessary?" Izuku mumbled.

" _Nope, but it sure was fun. You humans are hilarious when you're scared."_

"I could have injured myself," Izuku pointed out, rubbing his sore ankle.

" _Pain is fun too."_

Izuku let out a groan and decided to give up.

"So why did you get me up at…" Izuku paused to look at his All Might alarm clock.

"Four in the morning?!" He squawked, barely managing to keep his voice down.

"Why would you wake me up at four in the morning?"

" _The early bird gets the worm! I've got a quest for you, remember."_

"Right," Izuku said sheepishly, he had forgotten that.

" _Anyway,"_ Bill continued _. "There's this little shrine about an hour or two away from here… Don't worry it's abandoned. Now if I remember correctly there should be a jar buried under it with either a scroll or an amulet in it… I forget which. Anyway I think it'll let you control fire or something."_

"That's kind of… vague… Are you sure something's actually there?" Izuku asked.

" _Do I look like I would deliberately mislead you?"_

Izuku did not dignify that question with a response. He rubbed his temples with his fingers and then sighed.

"Okay, but I'm getting breakfast and telling Mom where I'm going first."

* * *

It was about five hours later and Izuku was wet and miserable. Bill had completely failed to mention that the shrine was out in the middle of the woods with no discernible path leading to it. He made a rather despairing swipe at his hair which was hanging down in his face in dripping tangles of green… that or he had gotten some moss stuck in his hood.

"Are we almost there?"

" _It should be somewhere around here… probably"_ Bill said cheerfully.

"Probably?!"

Suddenly the ground under Izuku's feet shifted. That was all the warning he got before he was falling into a pitch black void.

Izuku managed to scream out the light spell. The glowing blue orb appeared and he had a split second to see water rushing up at him before he was submerged.

The freezing waster forced the air out of his lungs. For a moment Izuku floated, disoriented from the fall, but then he got his bearings and desperately struggled toward the surface, chest burning. He got his head out of the water and gasped in a breath. He needed to get out fast.

Vaguely he realized that he had lost his light on the way down. He couldn't feel the backlash over the cold. His teeth were chattering so hard that it took him several tries to summon up a new one. The blue light reflected off the water surrounding him in all directions…

There. He could make out a rocky surface about five meters ahead of him. He quickly started dog paddling toward it. It seemed to take forever to reach it. He could feel his warmth draining. Izuku's cold wet fingers slipped on the edge for a moment before he managed to find something to grip to hull himself out of the water.

He lay there for a moment panting, but when his panting turned to shivers he realized he needed to get moving. If he got hypothermia down here, he was done for. He would be dead and no one would find the body. An additional shudder ran down his spine at that thought. Gathering up his strength Izuku staggered to his feet. He felt heavy and unsteady. It took him a second to get his balance right.

Izuku paused, something didn't feel right. He realized with horror that his backpack was gone. That meant he didn't have a change of dry clothes, water or snacks. Izuku let out a quiet curse tears gathering in his eyes. He dug around in his pockets. His wallet was still there… and his cell phone. He was suddenly very glad he had gotten that waterproof case. He pulled out the phone and turned on the screen with shaking fingers. No reception. He sighed.

" _Well that was fun,"_ Bill said.

Izuku shot a glare into the darkness.

" _Hey don't be so down. We're exactly where we're supposed to be!"_

"What? I thought you said the jar was buried under the shrine?"

" _No I definitely just said it was under the shrine… Huh… I guess I forgot to specify how far under… oh well."_

Izuku moved his hand under the light orb and lifted it up so that he could get a better look at their surroundings. They were in a small cavern. The eerie blue light reflected off the stalactites that hung from the ceiling and the water behind him. There was a patch of light on the water a ways away. It was likely were he had fallen. His backpack was nowhere to be seen. Ahead of him was a tunnel disappearing into complete darkness.

He shivered again.

Izuku took a deep breath and plunged into the depths of the cave.

* * *

 **Author Note:** **Hey look at this I get to work on the cave arc again! I'm sure anyone who read the first version recognizes this. You finally get to find out what happens.**

 **This'll be fun. I mean what kind of Gravity Falls crossover would this be if there wasn't an adventure?**


	5. Izuku Midoriya and the Perilous Tunnel

Izuku rubbed his arms as he stared nervously at the rope bridge. Actually "bridge" might have been too generous of a term. It had probably been a respectable bridge at one point, but now it was three ropes, very worn ropes, suspended over a chasm. The fourth rope was hanging by a few rotten boards from the lowest one.

Izuku's light orb was doing very little to show what sort of condition the ropes on the far side were in or how deep the chasm was. He thought about dropping a rock down to see, but decided that he was happier not knowing. To be honest he'd rather just turn around and not risk the bridge, but it was that or try to climb back up through the hole he fell in from. At this point Izuku knew another dip in that frigid water would do him in.

Grimacing he braced himself and carefully tested the bottom rope with his right foot.

" _Oh, just get on with it!"_

Izuku let out a yelp, lost his balance and stumbled forward. His arms flailed wildly as he tried to catch his balance. For a horrifying moment, he felt himself sliding off the rope then, just in time, he manage to grab the two guide ropes and pull his left foot on. He hung on with all his strength as the entire structure swung wildly under him.

Eventually the swinging subsided to mild tremors. Izuku slowly became aware of the fact that he was hyperventilating. He gulped in a breath and held it. When he let it back out he was a little calmer, still panicking, but at least he was not about to pass out.

" _Nice catch,"_ Bill said.

Izuku decided he was done talking to the triangle for a while.

" _Aww, don't be like that."_

Very carefully Izuku looked back. He had slid a few meters away from the ledge he had been standing on. As much as he wanted solid ground under his feet right now it was probably best for him to continue.

Izuku moved his left foot forward. The bridge swayed precariously. He swallowed painfully and then moved his right foot. The ropes groaned. Slowly, keeping his eyes straight ahead, he began to work his way across the bridge.

" _I hear that for you humans if you look down when you're up super high, it makes you freak out or something. Or maybe it makes you lose your balance… I forget. But what does it matter? You're doing a great job!"_

Izuku continued to ignore him.

The rope under Izuku's feet creaked again. There was a dry rattle and one of the boards hanging off came loose. Far below them, the board hit something. The sound of it splintering echoed off the walls. Izuku shivered violently.

" _Wow, that's a long way down. Well on the bright side if you fall you'll probably be dead the moment you hit the ground… so no need to worry about a slow agonizing death from broken bones and internal bleeding!"_

"Please be quiet, Bill," Izuku whimpered through chattering teeth.

" _Yeesh, just trying to lighten the mood…"_

He was just past the halfway point now. The rope under his feet was starting to slope up again.

 _Just one foot in front of the other._

" _Yeah whatever you do don't slip or look down."_

He was doing great, just a few more meters. Izuku tried to speed up a little, but it was hard. The rope was getting very steep now.

 _Just a little bit farther…_ Izuku thought. _I'm going to make it._

His foot slipped.

" _Oops, you jinxed it."_

Izuku let out a shriek as he lost his balance. He leaned forward trying to get his foot back on the rope but overcorrected. He fell. By pure luck, he managed to grab the rope on his way down.

For a second he just hung there. Suddenly there was a series of pops, a long drawn out groan and then a sound something like a gunshot. Izuku was swinging through the air. His scream cut off as his shoulder collided hard with the wall of the chasm. The movement ceased and he clung whimpering to the rope, his shoulder sending pulses of pain throughout his body.

It was pitch black now. He must have released his hold on the light orb again. Izuku's shoulders shook and a tear trickled down his cheek.

" _You're really unlucky aren't you?"_ Bill commented. _"Ya know I could probably get us out of here. You'd just need to let me…"_

"No," Izuku said staring into the blackness. He took a shaky breath. "I can do this."

" _Suit yourself."_ Bill sent him the impression of a shrug.

Izuku released his left hand from the rope, hissing as his weight pulled on his injured shoulder. He gritted his teeth together, grabbed a little higher and started shimmying up. He paused a couple times: once a few minutes in to conjure up a new light orb and once to let his shoulder rest.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he pulled himself over the edge of the cliff and onto solid ground. He lay there panting, hands red and throbbing.

Bill let out an impressed whistle. _"I didn't think you had it in you. Nice job broccoli head!"_

Izuku felt his lips tug upward a bit, a little warm spot forming in his chest for a moment before the cold of his limbs forced him to action. He staggered to his feet and looked around.

There were two tunnels in front of him. He sighed. Of course there were two. Why would this be easy?

"I don't suppose you know which tunnel the correct one is?" Izuku asked aloud.

" _Nope,"_ Bill said cheerfully.

Izuku sighed again. He pulled out his wallet and, after fumbling for a second, fished out a ten yen coin. He flipped it in the air and caught it on the back of his hand.

"Okay we're going left."

Izuku moved into the tunnel. He pushed himself a little trying to keep a brisk pace despite the way his legs kept locking up. The light orb floated placidly at his shoulder, casting eerie shadows from the rock formations on the strangely smooth floor. Bill was humming a song in the back of his head somewhere. It was familiar, but he couldn't quite pin down what it was. The tempo was slowly increasing as he moved further down the tunnel. He was just about to ask Bill to stop when something clicked.

Izuku stopped and looked down. Under his foot a section of the floor had sunken. He pulled his foot back and it realigned with the rest of the floor, completely invisible to anyone who didn't know it was there. He didn't have any more time to contemplate this.

There was a distant rumpling and the earth beneath him started shaking.

" _You should probably run."_ Bill said in a lazy tone.

Izuku ran. The rumbling continued getting louder and louder, like a lightning storm overhead. He didn't look back. Stale air blew against the back of his neck. His breath came in rapid painful gasps, but he kept running.

Rocks were shooting past him on all sides now. Some hit his back and legs. He would no doubt have bruises tomorrow... If he survived that long. The rumble had grown to a deafening cacophony.

Izuku came to the intersection. He swung himself around the corner and pressed himself against the wall as river of rocks roared past him and over the edge of the cliff, demolishing the sad remains of the rope bridge.

Izuku waited until the rocks had stopped and then ventured back out to survey the damage. As he had suspected the left tunnel was now completely blocked off. He really hoped that had not been the way out.

" _Wow that was quite the doozy!_ _"_

Izuku shot a tired glare out into the dark air of the tunnel.

"Y- you… you knew that there were traps didn't you?"

" _Of course I did! What sort of mentor would I be if I sent you into a situation I knew nothing about?"_

"You'd be a better one if you'd warn me!" Izuku said, his last thread of patience snapping.

" _Villains aren't going to warn you about the traps they set. They're not going to send you a nice letter before they attack you,"_ Bill said in a bored tone. _"Natural disaster can be predicted sometimes, but generally strikes without warning. I'm doing you a favor. This is the best kind of training for being a hero. You need to learn to survive, to be crafty, to always be on your toes."_

Izuku clenched his fists something bitter twisting in the back of his throat, but didn't argue any farther.

He sighed and faced the right tunnel.

" _So… now how can you go about this smarter?"_ Bill asked.

Izuku eyed the tunnel in front of him warily. For a moment, his vision went fuzzy as another fit of shivers racked his body. He shook his head. He had to focus. He couldn't afford to set off another trap.

"Well the last thing I set off seemed like some sort of pressure trap. I think if I look carefully and keep my light orb close to the ground I should be able to see any more…"

Izuku pinched his lower lip between his fingers, eyebrows furrowing.

"I probably should transfer my weight slowly with each step just to be sure."

Bill hummed, but did not offer any comment.

"No… there might be more traps than just the pressure ones. Tripwires! But how would I find those… I remember reading something about soldiers in the pre-quirk era using aerosol string to detect them because it would catch on them but was still light enough not to set them off, but what do I have that I could use…"

Izuku stared blankly into the middle distance.

"My shirt!" He exclaimed suddenly, eyes lighting up.

" _Your shirt?"_ Bill asked sounding a bit bemused. _"Sorry to break it to you, Mumbles, but I think that's a bit too heavy."_

Izuku should his head rapidly.

"No no no… I'm not going to use the whole shirt. I'll just unravel some thread off of it and use that to look for tripwires."

Getting the thread loose proved harder than he thought but, using his teeth, he finally managed to get the sleeve to fray.

He carefully cast the thread out on the ground. It met no resistance. After inspecting for any sort of pressure traps he took a step forward. He found nothing for the next ten steps. On the eleventh the thread from his shirt hung suspended a few centimeters above the ground. Careful inspection revealed a pressure trap right after it.

He moved a few paces back and ran forward. Right before he reached the tripwire he jumped. His leap carried him about a meter and a half forward. He touched down and froze holding his breath. Everything around him was silent. The only thing he could hear was the beating of his heart and the blood roaring in his ears. He let out a shaky breath and started moving forward again.

The rest of the walk continued something like that. Fortunately for his tired legs he could step over most of the traps. Continual threat of death aside, it was oddly peaceful. There was something kind of comforting about the repetitive motion of checking for traps. The flickering blue light made everything feel a little surreal as if he was under water. He had stopped shivering a while ago and he didn't feel as cold anymore, just kind of tired. Actually he was starting to feel a little warmer. Almost bed warm, as if he might doze off. If he didn't have to check for traps constantly he might have been tempted to shut his eyes for a second. Bill was saying something in his head, but he couldn't quite make it out.

Absentmindedly Izuku rubbed his arms. His limbs felt heavy and stiff. All that running must have taken a lot out of him. It really wouldn't be too bad to rest for just a moment. It was so dark and warm and he was so tired. He nodded, letting himself slide down the wall that he couldn't remember leaning on. Yeah, it would be okay to rest for just a second. He'd be more alert then.

An orange light fell on his face and he squinted. Too bright. He grimaced and curled into a tight ball. His eyes closed. He just wanted to sleep.

* * *

 **Author Note:** **In case anyone is wondering Bill was humming the "Jaws" theme.**

 **Next week: The conclusion of this adventure and Izuku learns something interesting about magic.**


	6. Exit Stage Left

Izuku's senses slowly returned as he drifted back into consciousness. His brows scrunched as he shifted, jolts of pain making themselves known from all over his body, especially his right arm. He drew in a sharp gasp of air. His heart fluttered oddly and his lungs burned as if he was sick. At least he was warm. The pleasant heat from behind him was slowly loosening his stiff limbs. Instinctually he curled closer to it, drifting back toward oblivion.

Something brushed against his nose. He forced his eyes open and squinted as the world swam into focus. There was something yellow moving in front of his face. He blinked a few times. His eyes adjusted. It was…

 _Fire!_

Unheeding of the pain Izuku rolled away. He staggered to his feet and nearly lost his balance as his numb legs tingled and almost buckled. He looked around franticly for the source of the blaze.

He froze. His mouth fell open. Before him was a creature he had heard of but never even dreamed could actually exist. It was deer-like. A mixture of blue-green scales and light brown fur covered it. Two backwards facing antlers adorned the top of its head. Flames flickered around its split hooves and from its shoulders. Calm golden eyes stared out at Izuku from under shaggy brows.

 _A Kirin._

It met Izuku's gaze and blinked once, slowly, before rising to its feet. The Kirin walked toward him with the flowing, graceful gait of a relaxed cat. It halted about an arm's length away. He could feel the gentle warmth of its fire on his skin. Hesitantly, almost in a trance, Izuku reached out and stroked its head. It leaned into the touch for a moment, then stepped back and began to walk away.

Still in shock, Izuku followed it. Looking around Izuku realized he was in a cavern of some sort. The stone was carved with thousands of glowing symbols. They dotted the walls and ceiling forming strange incomprehensible constellations. The very air around him thrummed with power.

He was so caught up in studying them that it wasn't until he looked down again that he realized the Kirin had disappeared. Izuku looked around rapidly, but didn't see it anywhere. Very confused now, he began to search the chamber, but he found nothing until he reached the far edge. There, hidden in an alcove in the wall, was a small wooden shrine.

Izuku stared at it. It seemed strangely out of place. Its hand carved wood felt too young. Izuku remembered Bill saying something about a shrine. Was this what he had been talking about? He clasped his hands together for a moment and bowed his head.

 _Sorry,_ He thought. _I just want to check… I need this._

Gently, hesitantly, he slipped his hand under the shrine. His probing fingers encountered a box and he pulled it out. It was wooden, carved out of some sort of pleasant smelling wood, pine maybe.

 _Not a jar,_ Izuku thought, eyebrows drawing together.

He removed the top of the box anyway. Inside a red jeweled pendent sat on top of a large blue book with a number four and a pattern of eight little dots engraved on the cover in silver. Izuku stared at them a second before picking up the pendent with shaking hands. It flickered red, yellow and orange in the light of the runes. This had to be what Bill was talking about. He looked around for the Kirin again, but it was nowhere in sight. He sat back on his heels.

"Is it okay if I take this with me?" He asked the empty air around him. "I swear I will return it someday. I just want to use it to help people."

There was no response.

Still shaking Izuku slipped the pendent into his pocket and closed the box again. He slid it back under the shrine. He clasped his hands together and bowed his head before standing up.

Izuku wiped his sweating hands on his pants and glanced around for an exit. There. To his left, in the middle of the cavern wall was an archway he hadn't noticed before. Had it been there before? An intricately woven set of runes arched over it, separate from the ones decorating the rest of the chamber. Beyond it was darkness. It had to be the way out…

Izuku approached it hesitantly. He paused before it and formed a light orb. He looked back again. There was still no sign of the Kirin, but the hair on the back of his neck prickled.

Izuku faced the arch again. He hunched his shoulders and took a step forward and then another, passing completely through.

…

Something shifted. With a jolt, Izuku spun and looked back. The chamber was gone; a continuous tunnel in its place. His pulse quickened. Eyes wide he scanned the cave wall. He thought he saw something above him. He lifted his light orb to look.

" _So did you get it?"_

Izuku jolted.

"Bill!"

" _So you did! Good job kid,"_ Bill said. _"I wasn't sure the old goat would let you take it."_

Izuku's brow furrowed. It took him a second to realize what Bill was talking about.

"You mean the Kirin?" Izuku asked, affronted that Bill would refer to the majestic creature that way.

" _Sure, call it what you want_. _"_

Izuku's attention shifted back up to the cave wall again. He gently pushed the orb up until it illuminated the ceiling. There were runes there, just like the ones in the cave. They were hard to make out without the glow illuminating them from within.

"They must be a matching set," Izuku realized. "So was that cavern on the mountain or somewhere else entirely."

Izuku stood on his tiptoes and reached up to touch the closest rune. It tingled under his fingertips.

" _It's a little early for you to learn that kind of thing,"_ Bill said.

"When can I…" Izuku started.

His phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out and did a double take. It was almost four in the afternoon; not only that, but there were about ten missed messages from his Mom. He needed to get going.

A breeze ruffled his hair. Absently he ran a hand through it trying to force it back into place.

 _Wait…_

 _A breeze!_

Izuku's head shot up. Fresh air. That meant he was close to an exit.

He quickly began to jog in the direction of the breeze was coming from. The cave suddenly seemed too restrictive and dark. With every step the air became fresher. Finally the tunnel opened up and light spilled onto his face.

Izuku closed his eyes against the brightness, but didn't move back out of the glare. He stood there letting the sun warm his skin. Absently he released his light orb.

"I made it," He said.

A feeling of excitement built up in his chest and he punched the air letting out a whoop of excitement. That was promptly followed by a yelp as he was painfully reminded that his shoulder was still injured. Despite the pain he was grinning as he cradled it.

He had made it! He had survived a whole cave full of traps… with help, but still. Maybe he wasn't as useless as he was always told.

"I really did it," He repeated to Bill.

He could feel the triangle rolling his eyes.

" _Has anyone told you you get excited way too easily?"_

"Yeah but…"

" _Ah, I'm just joshing you, kid! If you thought this was fun wait until what I've got planned for your next quest!"_

"Hold on a second," Izuku said going pale. "I barely survived this one. What exactly…"

At that moment he caught sight of some movement out of the corner of his eye. He spun toward it and went still.

It was a boy, about his age. He had startling red and white hair parted neatly down the middle. He was bent over with his hands outstretched over a small frozen plant and his eyes, one blue and one grey, were fixed on Izuku.

Izuku was suddenly hyper-aware of the tattered state of his clothing and his large collection of scratches and bruises. He really hoped that the boy hadn't heard him talking to Bill. A flush slowly crept up Izuku's face from his neck.

"Do you need… help?" The boy said slowly as he straightened up.

His eyebrows furrowed as his gaze traced over Izuku, snagging on his right arm.

Izuku sputtered and waved a hand frantically.

"N-no… I'm fine. I was just, uh… I was…" His eyes darted around, as he tried to think up an excuse. "I was looking for my backpack!"

" _Smooth,"_ Bill remarked in his head. _"We really need to work on your lying skills."_

"Okay…" The boy said slowly.

His mouth opened again like he wanted to say something else, but he stopped and closed it. He shifted his weight from his right to his left and then, looking away, coughed lightly.

Izuku took this as an opportunity to escape.

"Well! Sorry for bothering you," He squeaked, bowing quickly. "I need to go now. I hope your day goes well."

Then, before he could embarrass himself any further, he quickly ran off into the forest.

* * *

Inko Midoriya was just finishing preparing dinner when she heard the front door open. She turned off the burner as her shoulders sagged in relief. Izuku was very intelligent and she knew he could take care of himself but… well… he was just fourteen and her only child. So of course she worried. It didn't really help that he hadn't answered his phone for most of the day. Any attempts to call him immediately went to message. She quickly rinsed her hands and hurried to the front door to meet him.

"Izuku, thank goodness you're finally…."

Inko rounded the corner and froze, hands still wrapped in the towel she was drying them off on. Her gaze went up and down Izuku once, taking in the scratches, bruises, and damaged clothes. He was holding his right arm close to his chest like it pained him. The towel fell from her limp hands. Her eyes teared up.

Izuku's widened.

"Mom…" He started.

"Izuku, honey, what happened?"

Her hands, held slightly out in front of her, twitched as she restrained herself from hugging him. She didn't want to worsen his injuries.

"I kind of fell in a hole," Izuku said, a shaky smile forming on his face as he rubbed the back of his neck. His eyes darted to the side. He twitched as if startled and looked back at her again.

Inko frowned. Something didn't sound quite right about that. She shook her head. It could wait. She stepped closer.

"What's wrong with your arm? Is it broken? Do we need to go to the hospital?"

The tears were dripping down her face now. Izuku looked rather alarmed.

"No! It's not that bad. Just bruised," He said quickly.

He tried to wave it around and ended up hissing in pain. That did absolutely nothing to alieve her worries.

"Oh dear! Let me take a look, just to be sure. I-I need to get the rest of you fixed up, too."

She wiped away her tears before gently grabbing ahold of his less injured left arm and leading him toward the bathroom. There he sat down on the edge of the bathtub as she had him take his shirt off so she could get at all his injuries.

He tended to be a bit accident prone, if they really were accidents, something she really doubted, but she had never seen him quite this beat up before.

She sniffled a little as she worked, but held herself back from saying anything.

"I lost my backpack," Izuku said abruptly.

She looked up at him in surprise. Izuku's eyes were fixed firmly on the picture over her head, eyebrows wrinkled.

 _Why is he? Oh!_

Since it was just Inko providing for the two of them, finances ran a little close, but she always did her best to make sure Izuku had all he wanted and needed. Still she knew he noticed when he came home from school to see her frowning over some bills or how she would often put back a little luxury item at the grocery store.

"Oh honey," She said carefully wrapping her arms around him. She was lucky to have such a kind son. "That's not important, I'm just so glad you're safe."

She sniffled again.

"I… I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you."

Izuku gently hugged her back.

For a moment he just rested there, arms wrapped around her, then, just as she was about to pull away, he shuddered and tightened his hold. His chest shook against her and she felt warm tears drip down on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Mom," he whispered. "I'm so sorry."

* * *

Izuku collapsed onto his bed.

His gaze strayed over to his pants. He retrieved them and fished the pendent out. It did not look quite as striking in the white light of his bedroom, but he could feel warmth radiating off it. A little spark of guilt stirred in his heart. He shook his head, it was okay. He was going to use it to help people. He wrapped his hands around it and felt the same thrum of potential he did from the magic word Bill had taught him.

Holding it tight to his chest he curled up and went to sleep.

* * *

 **Author Note:**

 **Boy this chapter just didn't want to be written. I also decided to change a major plot element, so had to do a bit of figuring. This will make the story more interesting and poor Izuku's life harder.**

 **The bit on magic will be next chapter. Hope y'all enjoy.**


	7. Hollow

_Channel my energy, visualize the flame moving._

Izuku held the Kirin's pendant in one hand and the lighter in his other. The small yellow-blue flame flickered lazily, unaffected by his efforts. Izuku glared at it trying to visualize it moving to the left. Nothing.

He released the lighter and watched as the flame died. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He could do this. The pendant was like a preset spell Bill had said.

"Just like running numbers through a calculator," Izuku muttered.

He tried again, still nothing.

He set the lighter and pendant down with a sigh and reached for his notebook. He had to be doing something wrong, but what? The whole channeling energy thing was so vague. Whatever it was it seemed to be as natural as breathing to Bill, so the triangle's explanations weren't really helping.

 _Energy…_

There were different types of energy Izuku knew. Thermal, chemical, gravitational to name a few, but Izuku doubted it was one of those. He wrote them down anyway. Absently he pinched his lip, as he reread his notes.

Bill was using some of his energy. Was the energy that Bill was taking from him the same type as what he was supposed to channel into the pendant? Now that he thought about it, did Bill taking some of his energy affect his ability to use magic? It seemed like it would… He sketched Bill on the paper next to the list of energy types. He stared at the picture for a moment. A chill crawled down his spine. He erased the triangle's pupil and redrew it looking away from him.

" _Any luck yet, Mumbles?"_

Izuku jolted. Speak of the devil.

"Not really," He said with a sigh. "I just don't get this whole energy thing."

" _It's probably because you're stuck in a fleshbag. All that meat clouds your thinking."_

Izuku shuddered.

"And what do you suggest I do? I can't exactly leave my body."

" _Hmmmm."_

An image of Bill tapping the top of his cane flickered through Izuku's head.

" _Actually I might be able to help you with that."_

"How?" Izuku asked.

Goosebumps prickled on his arms and something twisted in his gut.

" _It would be something like how I helped you enter the mindscape: just a little one time deal to help you get the feeling for it."_

"What would that involve?" Izuku asked slowly.

" _Basically I would pull at your mind again, but instead of pulling you into your mindscape I'd just pull you out of your body into the general mindscape."_

"Out of my body?" Izuku squeaked, arms wrapping around himself instinctively.

" _Relax, kid, it wouldn't hurt you any. It would help you to get a better feel for energy flow."_

"No. No, no, no." Izuku shook his head rapidly, fists clenching into his shirt.

" _Your loss,"_ Bill said lazily. _"Let me know if you change your mind."_

Izuku's gaze fell on his alarm clock and he jolted. He had five minutes to get out the door or he would be late for school.

Minding his injured arm, he quickly grabbed his school bag and bolted out of his room.

* * *

Izuku could feel the other students staring at him as he struggled to write with his left hand. His cheeks heated up and he ducked his head. Fortunately no one seemed inclined to investigate. The day was going by peacefully.

Izuku suppressed a sigh of frustration as he tried to focus on what their English teacher was saying. Unfortunately they were going through review right now, so his attention kept drifting back to the pendent sitting warmly against his chest.

It felt as if he was just one little clue away from figuring it out, like a puzzle missing one key piece. So what was it?

Bill had said to _push_ his energy into the pendent and then he would be able to use it to affect the fire. So something like charging a battery?

Izuku pinched his lip and scribbled that down into the margin of his notes. His thoughts drifted back to the Kirin's cave and the feeling of power he had gotten from the ruins… As if it was an excess radiating off of them… almost overcharged…

So maybe magic worked something like electricity? Izuku tapped his pencil on the desk, leg vibrating madly as he wrestled the idea into place.

It was certainly worth trying… So how did he go about building up a magic "charge"?

Izuku focused on imagining something like the pulsing feeling he had gotten from the cave. It took a few tries, but slowly he felt his body start to tingle as if he was building up a static charge. Once he felt like he had a decent amount he grabbed the pendent.

It worked. Izuku could feel the charge transfer from his body into the pendent. He bounced a little in his seat, a smile forming on his face. He ignored the feeling of exhaustion that swept through him. Once class let out he was going to…

"Stop your creeping muttering!"

Izuku's head shot up and, almost in slow motion, he saw Bakugou's hand coming toward him. It was glowing faintly as it always did before he let off a blast.

Izuku screwed his eyes closed and curled in on himself, hoping with all his might that the blast would miss him.

 _BOOM!_

The sound hit him, but no pain or heat. Izuku waited expecting a second explosion, but none came. In fact it was quiet. Silent.

Hesitantly Izuku opened his eyes. Everyone in the room, teacher included, was staring at him as if he had just grown a third arm. Even Bakugou was wide-eyed and pale. Izuku looked around, confusion mounting with every second. He shifted and the chair creaked under him.

The spell broke and everyone, except Bakugou, was moving and talking.

"Did you see?"

"No way!"

"Did he just…"

"Impossible… way too late…"

"I've never heard of one appearing at our age…"

Izuku frowned and shrunk farther into his chair unable to make heads or tails of what he was hearing.

 _What just happened?_ He thought.

Cacophonous laughter filled his mind and he flinched.

" _What just happened? Why you just tossed aside Sparky's explosion like it was a cheap sparkler."_

 _What?_

That meant they had all just seen him doing magic, but… they didn't seem to realize. Instead they seemed to think… They thought he had a quirk, Izuku realized. His eyes widened.

No… That wasn't how he had wanted it.

There was a rustle beside him and Izuku flinched. Bakugou seemed to have finally gotten himself back together. His hands were clenched into shaking fists and his face was turning an alarming shade of red. Izuku leaned back bracing himself.

"Everyone to your seats or I'll give you all detention!" The teacher yelled.

Izuku felt his shoulders loosen with relief, as Bakugou snarled but sat down.

"Midoriya, please report to the principal's office."

He winced, but gathered his books up and made his way to the door.

* * *

"What am I going to do?" Izuku whisper-screamed as he paced back and forth in the bathroom.

He wasn't ready for this. He didn't know enough magic. He didn't have enough practice. He wasn't…

" _Relax, kid,"_ Bill said, sounding amused.

"H- How can I relax at a time like this?" Izuku asked tugging at his hair.

" _This is probably for the better actually."_

Izuku stopped pacing and blinked.

"How?"

" _Well you know how dangerous magic is. Think about it… If you had tried to pass your magic as a quirk, people would have been aware of the words. Now adults wouldn't be a problem, but the kids… What do kids do when they idolize someone?"_

Izuku's brows furrowed.

"They try to act like them, they…. Oh."

" _Exactly. Kids might try to do your magic for themselves and they would actually do it thinking it would work. Now what happens if a kid with magic potential tries to copy a powerful spell he saw his hero doing fully believing it will work?"_

"Oh." Izuku paled, he hadn't thought of that.

" _So why not go with this? Pyrokinesis is pretty much a perfect mix of your parent's quirks, yeah?_ _You can use your other spells on the sly. As a bonus you wouldn't have to worry about teaching any villains magic."_

He was right.

"Okay, but I should at least tell Mom the truth."

" _Should you?"_

"Yeah. Of course! Why would I lie to her?" Izuku asked, indignant.

" _Weeeelllll. Telling here the truth will bring up the question of where you learned about magic. Do you really want to tell her about the little voice in your head?"_

Izuku winced at that. It was true; Bill was not exactly the sanest sounding thing that had happened to him.

"Okay."

" _Good, I knew you were bright enough to see sense."_

* * *

Inko wasn't sure what to think when she was called to the principal's office in the middle of the school day. Worse case scenarios flickered through her head. She was about ready to cry when she pushed open the door to see Izuku sitting in a chair unharmed. She gave him a quick hug before taking a seat beside him.

"I imagine you're wondering why I called you here, Mrs. Midoriya," The principal began.

He broke into a wide smile.

"It's my pleasure to inform you that your son has finally developed a quirk."

 _What?_

Inko turned to stare at her son in shock. He didn't return her gaze, but instead shrunk further into his chair.

He didn't seem particularly excited.

"What happened?" She asked.

The principal gave a very brief summary of events. According to him Izuku and some the other kids had been roughhousing, when young Katsuki had set off an explosion and Izuku's Quirk had manifested allowing him to draw the sparks away.

Inko frowned. That didn't sound quite right to her, but experience had taught her that that was all she was going to get. She would ask Izuku later.

"Are you okay, Izuku?" She asked turning away from the principal.

Izuku was staring off into the middle distance. He jolted suddenly, mouth opening for a moment as if to say something, before he shook his head and turned to look at her. His lips formed a rather wobbly smile.

"Yeah," He said. "I'm just a little overwhelmed. I think it will take a little while to sink in."

Inko's heart clenched. He looked so nervous. It must be a huge change for him to suddenly have a quirk after spending so long thinking he would never have one. She pulled Izuku in for a hug.

"I'm so happy for you," She whispered in his ear. "I'll be cheering for you."

"Thanks, Mom," He replied in a slightly choked up voice.

* * *

If Izuku thought it had been awkward showing up at class with all the injuries from the cave incident, it was nothing compared to showing up at school the day after his "quirk" manifested.

Everyone was staring and whispering and Bakugou looked as if he had been personally offended. Izuku tried to keep his head down. Eventually, though, lunch time struck.

Before Izuku could escape his desk was surrounded.

"So what's your quirk?" A girl asked.

Izuku smiled shakily, unsure how to handle the sudden attention.

"Pyrokinesis," He said.

"A bit generic, but cool. So how does it work?" A boy on his left asked.

"Well…"

The rest of lunch break continued like this. By the time his next class rolled around Izuku was about ready to hide in the gym storage.

After school a couple kids approached him again, inviting him to come study with them.

Izuku stared at them. Just a week or two ago they had been laughing as Bakugou had cornered him up against the classroom wall.

 _Why? Why now?_

" _You know why."_

"Sorry," Izuku said out loud, forcing an apologetic smile onto his face. "I already have plans."

"Like what?" They seemed almost offended by his refusal.

Izuku rubbed the back of his neck, shoulders hunching. He tried to be as polite as possible even as something in his gut curled painfully.

" _Come on, Mumbles,"_ Bill said.

Izuku laughed nervously.

"Well now that I have a quirk, I have a better chance of getting into UA, so I'm going to have to train really hard to catch up. I don't really have a lot of time if I want to be ready for the entrance exam."

One of the boys stared at him for a moment. His lip curled.

"Fine," He turned and walked away, friends trailing behind him.

"Ungrateful creep," Izuku heard one of them mutter before they are out of earshot.

Izuku stared after them painful feeling persisting. He clenched his fists and took a deep breath, then let it out slowly.

"Let's go, Bill," He said out loud.

* * *

 **Author note:**

 **Originally I was going to have Izuku pass off his magic as a quirk that allowed him to use words to channel his energy, but I decided that this would make more sense and open some interesting possibilities.**


End file.
